


Heartaches by the Number

by Alexolotl



Series: Courier Lily Bell [1]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Boone realises he has a friend now, Friendship, Gen, Mild platonic hurt/comfort, radiation poisoning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-25
Updated: 2020-02-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:36:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22887181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alexolotl/pseuds/Alexolotl
Summary: Boone reflects on his experience travelling with Courier Lily Bell thus far, and a tense situation makes him face the fact he might actually have to open up to somebody for once.
Relationships: Craig Boone & Female Courier
Series: Courier Lily Bell [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1645153
Kudos: 8





	Heartaches by the Number

**Author's Note:**

> Slightly adapted from the version I posted on Tumblr.

It hit Boone suddenly, as they were leaving Camp Searchlight. 

Up until that point - this Lily Bell kid’d been decent, she helped him out, she helped Goodsprings out. She said once as they hit the road: ‘Some call ‘em Legionaries - I call ‘em target practice’ and grinned. He liked that. They were a functional team when it came to taking out Legion scum. After being quietly I’m-mildly-annoyed-but-not-really by her singing along to the radio and the general patter of conversation she kept up all the time, it also started to dawn on him that this was a _kid_. Not a delicate or naive one by any means, her reactions when they went to Nipton showed that - she was _shaking_ with anger and words she couldn’t seem to express as they confronted the Legionaries there. It made him think he wouldn’t want to be on the wrong side of her - but she was still just a kid. He wasn’t exactly old himself, still pretty young, in fact, but she was a good few years younger than him. He’d never really travelled with anyone his junior before - or at least, only new NCR recruits, maybe, but that felt different somehow. They were in training, overseen by corporals and lieutenants and who knew how many others - this was a kid already adrift in the world, and it seemed - if ‘friends’ was what you could call them - he was one of her only real friends in the Mojave. 

Then they were in Camp Searchlight, and it was hard to tell how anyone was under those radiation suits, faces obscured and voices muffled. She’d been taking Rad-X and a few pouches of Radaway, and ripping through the job at quite a pace. The only moment he saw her falter was when confronted with the evidence that it was the Legion that did it, that somebody did it _deliberately_ , that somebody ordered it. The only thing that made her buckle up and move on was the reminder that said someone who ordered it was currently lying dead and full of lead in front of Nipton Town Hall. 

And they kept going. Logan betrayed them, as they’d been prepared for. She’d been quieter, but he figured that was just her rage at the Legion - he understood that. Then as they were on their way out of town, she staggered and shoved her head out of the radiation suit to throw up. She was pale, and there was a stream of blood running from her nose. 

“Guess there’s somethin’ a bit wrong with this suit, huh?”

That’s when it hit him. _Oh fuck. Oh, fuck._ I absolutely can’t let this kid fucking _die._

Critical radiation poisoning, and one pouch of Radaway left. He - awkwardly - went to steady her, let her lean on him, could only think to say: 

“Let’s get out of here.” 

Wolfhorn Ranch was their usual safe spot when in this part of the Mojave. A glance at the clock on her Pipboy showed it was already well past midnight. And as they staggered across the cold desert, Lily Bell stopping every once in a while to throw up or stave off lightheadedness, he stewed in the nervous silence. Usually she filled that with chatter, meaningless babble about nothing in particular, comments on the state of the road (as if they were good anywhere) or the colour of the rocks (as if it was ever anything but red). Or she’d sing, her light voice carrying the tunes - he had to admit - pretty well, even if she didn’t know all of the words to some of the songs and insisted on humming instead. He’d made comments about keeping low profile whilst travelling around, about alerting raiders and Legionaries to their presence, about keeping focused on their surroundings, but either it hadn’t sunk in or (he suspected the more likely option) she just didn’t care. Normally, he’d be glad of a bit more peace and quiet on the road. Now… 

He clicked on the radio. 

“Hey. Uh. Sing, kid. If you can.” He paused. “Just so I know you’re not dropping out of consciousness.” 

She gave him a sickly smile. 

_“I got heartaches by the number…”_

They got to the ranch, her barely scrambling out of the radiation suit before collapsing onto the bed, and him getting the last pouch of Radaway and carefully piercing the vein in the crook of her arm, letting it filter into her bloodstream and do its work. They both just had to hope it would be enough until they could get to Novac and see Strauss. Lily Bell closed her eyes, and Boone went to start taking stock of their ammo and resources, thinking she was drifting off to sleep. However, a few moments later he heard from the gloom behind him: 

“Hey, Boone?”

“What?” 

“… Tell me about your wife, will ya?” 

He closed his eyes. _Ah, shit._


End file.
